Graduation Semester and Year

Spring 2024

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering

Department

Bioengineering

First Advisor

Liping Tang

Abstract

Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO) is a common complication post cataract surgery. It is believed that Intraocular Lens (IOL) physical and chemical properties would affect their PCO potential. The tight binding between IOL and posterior lens capsule (PLC) is believed to have a negative impact on PCO formation, as suggested in the “No space, no cell, no PCO” hypothesis. To test the hypothesis, we have recently developed an in vitro 3D system to simulate IOL and PLC physical interaction. To expand the function and capability of this system, one objective of my work was to develop the next generation adhesion force bench expanding our adhesion model using a 3D simulated PLCs + IOLs design and physical features and developing an imaging modality using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The new adhesion force apparatus and the developed in-vitro OCT-based imaging test method was used to investigate whether and how IOL: PLC interaction would affect LEC responses, including LEC infiltration, proliferation, and differentiation. This lends powerful support to the clinical observations and the “No space, no cell, no PCO” hypothesis. It is well established that patients with severe myopia are often associated with high PCO incidence rate. However, the potential influence of IOL dioptric power on PCO potential remains unclear. We assessed the influence of IOL dioptric power on IOL: PLC interaction, and the overall results suggest that high posterior radius of curvature (or low posterior convexity) of lower power IOLs causes their low binding affinity toward the PLC and high PCO incidence rates of myopic eyes. Finally, an exploratory study was carried out to assess whether IOL implants undergo ageing process and how the IOL ageing reactions would affect their interactions with PLC and increase their PCO potential. The results got from this series of studies have not only improved our knowledge on IOL-mediated PCO process but also provided new guidance on the development of next generation IOLs with improved safety and efficacy.

Keywords

Intraocular lens, Lens capsule, Adhesion force, Posterior capsule opacification, In vitro model, IOL dioptric power, 3D model, Myopia, Optical coherence tomography

Disciplines

Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics | Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation | Other Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Available for download on Wednesday, May 13, 2026

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